too old for dreads

We’re now high in the mountains in McLeodGanj in the province of Himchal Pradesh. For the first 500 miles or so across India we didn’t see a hill or even the slightest incline. Then the mountains started just outside Pathankot. It’s exciting to think they’re the start of the Himalayas. 

After the stress of the train station scam in New Delhi we were apprehensive about the journey from Amritsar to Pathankot on the 0820 to Jammu. We decided to ask as many people as possible which platform the train would be leaving from (there are no departure boards). I stopped counting at 25 people after we’d got at least seven different answers. By this point I was looking like I’d just stepped out of the shower – it was so hot. We were the only westerners on the station and were stared at by everyone waiting for their train. Nothing was running on time and no-one was in the slightest bit stressed (apart from me). 

The train was filthy but after a couple of miles rolling through the Punjab countryside we got in the sprit of the whole thing, enjoying a lovely cup of sweet chai from the chai man and having numerous selfies taken with Indian families travelling back home to the northern Punjab after visiting Amritsar for the Golden Temple. 

McLeodGanj is definitely on the hippy trail – so if I’m going to get a tattoo and dreads, this will be the place! It poured down yesterday as we were queueing for our ID passes to see His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. We had no idea he was going to be here, in his official residence, but as luck would have it he’s here for a few days doing some teaching. 

We’re staying right by the Buddhist temple so were in there for 7.15am ready to see the great man arrive at 8.30am. He walked right past us and we sat – cross-legged – for three hours listening to his teachings on an FM radio which was broadcasting simultaneous translations in all the languages of the hundreds of people who were there. Surrounded by shaven headed monks in their robes we listened to his wise words. His point about the stress of Westerners and their focus  on making money and not being truly happy, hit home. He talked a lot about contentment and calm. I’m learning …